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Contribución por escrito de Amigos de la Tierra Internacional al grupo de trabajo intergubernamental de composición abierta sobre empresas transnacionales y otras empresas en materia de derechos humanos
Friends of the Earth International (FoEI) argues that the 'Zero Draft' presented by Ecuador for the UN binding treaty on transnational corporations (TNCs) is too weak to end corporate impunity. FoEI advocates for the treaty to establish direct legal obligations for TNCs, prioritize human rights over trade and investment agreements, and create an international tribunal for corporate human rights violations. The document criticizes the European Union for its lack of substantive participation and warns against 'corporate capture' of the negotiation process, emphasizing the need for a gender perspective and the protection of human rights defenders.
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Document type: Statement
Who Bears the Burden?
The Union of Concerned Scientists analysis reveals that Asian American, African American, and Latino residents in Massachusetts face significantly higher exposure to PM2.5 from cars, trucks, and buses than white residents. This disparity is attributed to historical decisions regarding transportation, housing, and land use. The document advocates for prioritizing clean transportation technologies—such as electric vehicles and buses—and infrastructure improvements in the most burdened communities to reduce health inequities.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Who Bears the Burden?
The analysis finds that Latino, Asian American, and African American residents in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are exposed to significantly higher levels of vehicle-related PM2.5 pollution than white residents. The report highlights that white residents comprise 85% of those in the lowest pollution areas, while people of color are overrepresented in the most polluted census tracts, often located near major highways in urban centers. The document argues for targeted investments in clean transportation, such as electric vehicles and buses, to reduce these environmental inequities.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Who Bears the Burden?
The Union of Concerned Scientists finds that Asian American, Latino, and African American residents in New York State are exposed to significantly higher levels of vehicle-derived PM2.5 pollution than white residents. The highest concentrations are found in New York City, particularly in the West Bronx, where pollution is linked to severe health risks including cardiovascular disease and asthma. The document argues that these inequities result from historical land-use and transportation decisions and recommends prioritizing electric vehicle infrastructure, cleaner fuels, and expanded public transit in the most burdened communities.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Do Americans understand how air pollution from fossil fuels harms health?
A December 2018 survey of 1,114 US adults found that while 73% believe fossil fuel air pollution harms health, only 55% could name a specific health problem. Most respondents cited general respiratory issues, while neurological problems, diabetes, and kidney disease were largely unknown. Additionally, 56% believe certain groups are more vulnerable to these effects, most frequently identifying seniors and those in polluted areas.
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Document type: Research paper
Principles of Equitable Policy Design for Energy Storage
The Union of Concerned Scientists and a coalition of stakeholders established six policy principles for energy storage to ensure the transition to clean energy benefits disadvantaged and frontline communities. These principles focus on reducing emissions, improving disaster resilience, promoting local economic development through job training, accelerating renewable energy deployment, protecting consumers from high costs, and ensuring transparent community participation in project planning.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Informe de la comisión ad hoc sobre la Decisión XXVI/26: Plan Estratégico del IAI
The IAI Strategic Plan (2019–2044) establishes a 25-year roadmap to bridge the gap between science and policy in the Americas. It is organized into three themes: meeting the needs of member states regarding global environmental change, advancing science for regional sustainability, and ensuring the IAI's own organizational sustainability. The plan emphasizes transdisciplinary research, open data, and the inclusion of underrepresented groups to inform climate adaptation and mitigation policies.
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Document type: Report
FACT SHEET
The Union of Concerned Scientists asserts that the United States has the lowest electoral integrity among advanced industrial democracies, which undermines the ability to create science-based policies. The report links voter suppression and gerrymandering to poor public health and environmental outcomes, citing examples in Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, North Dakota, and Texas. It advocates for reforms such as automatic voter registration, nonpartisan redistricting, and public campaign financing to reduce the influence of 'dark money' and corporate interests on government decision-making.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Denuncia y repudio por el asesinato de Sergio Rojas en Costa Rica
The document is a statement by Friends of the Earth Latin America and the Caribbean (ATALC) condemning the murder of Sergio Rojas, a Bribri indigenous defender in Costa Rica. Rojas was shot 15 times in his home on March 18, 2019, shortly after filing complaints regarding land usurpation by non-indigenous people. The organization highlights the lack of effective state protection despite precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and demands an end to impunity and the recognition of indigenous autonomy to prevent further violence.
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Document type: Statement
Condamnation de l’assassinat de Sergio Rojas au Costa Rica
Friends of the Earth Latin America and the Caribbean (ATALC) condemns the murder of Sergio Rojas, a defender of the Bribri people's territory in Costa Rica. The statement highlights that Rojas was killed shortly after filing a complaint regarding land appropriation by non-indigenous people, despite existing precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). ATALC calls on the Costa Rican government to end impunity and protect the autonomy and self-determination of indigenous peoples.
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Document type: Statement
Yucca Mountain in Brief
The briefing contends that the Yucca Mountain repository is 'irrevocably flawed' due to geological instability, including earthquake and volcano risks, and a failure to meet groundwater travel time standards. It highlights that the 2008 license application is obsolete because the Department of Energy abandoned the specific waste package design it was based on. The document further notes that the site's safety relies on unproven 'titanium drip shields' estimated to cost $5 to $9 billion (2018 dollars). It concludes that reviving the project would require billions in funding for licensing and infrastructure, such as a 300-plus mile rail line, and instead advocates for a 'consent-based' approach to nuclear waste management.
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Document type: Briefing
SUBMISSIONS ON ARCELORMITTAL VANDERBIJLPARK WORKS’ APPLICATION FOR A POSTPONEMENT AND ALTERNATIVE PLANT STANDARDS OF THE LISTED ACTIVITIES AND ASSOCIATED MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS
The document argues that AMSA's requests for emission standard postponements and alternative limits for hydrogen sulfide (H2S), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and hydrochloric acid (HCl) are unlawful and should be denied. The authors contend that the Vanderbijlpark Works is located in a non-compliant air quality priority area, that AMSA has failed to provide sufficient technical or economic justification for its requests, and that the company's history of non-compliance renders it unfit to receive such concessions.
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Document type: Statement
Death by impunity: Berta Cáceres and Agua Zarca
The report examines the assassination of Lenca indigenous leader Berta Cáceres in 2016, who opposed the Agua Zarca hydroelectric dam in Honduras. It details how the project, developed by Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA) and funded by international institutions including FMO and Finnfund, was marked by systemic violence and a lack of free, prior, and informed consent. Despite a 2018 court verdict convicting several individuals and linking the murder to DESA executives, the report argues that the reliance on voluntary human rights due diligence under the UN Guiding Principles is insufficient. It calls for legally binding international legislation to hold corporations accountable for human rights abuses and environmental damage.
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Document type: Report
Muerte por impunidad: Berta Cáceres y Agua Zarca
The report examines the assassination of environmental defender Berta Cáceres and the role of the Desarrollos Energéticos S.A. (DESA) company and its international financiers in the Agua Zarca hydroelectric project in Honduras. It highlights the failure of voluntary human rights due diligence and calls for binding international legislation to hold corporations accountable for human rights and environmental abuses.
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Document type: Report
SUBMISSIONS ON ESKOM’S APPLICATION FOR SUSPENSION, ALTERNATIVE LIMITS AND/OR POSTPONEMENT OF COMPLIANCE WITH THE MINIMUM EMISSION STANDARDS FOR 10 OF ITS COAL-FIRED POWER STATIONS
The Life After Coal campaign argues that Eskom's applications to delay or suspend compliance with Minimum Emission Standards (MES) are unlawful under the 2017 National Framework for Air Quality Management. The campaign asserts that the required condition for such applications—that the surrounding area be in compliance with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)—is not met in the Highveld Priority Area (HPA) or Vaal Triangle Airshed Priority Area (VTAPA). Furthermore, the document highlights severe health impacts, claiming that excess emissions could result in approximately 23,000 premature deaths. It criticizes Eskom's decommissioning schedules as vague and its air quality offset programs as ineffective, while providing international benchmarks to refute Eskom's claims that retrofitting older plants is infeasible.
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Document type: Statement
ХУВАНЦАР БА ЭРҮҮЛ МЭНД
The report details how plastic pollution constitutes a global public health crisis, affecting humans at every stage of the plastic life cycle. It examines the toxic emissions from fracking and petrochemical refining, the leaching of endocrine disruptors from packaging, and the health risks associated with microplastics and incineration. The document emphasizes that current fragmented regulatory approaches are insufficient and calls for a global reduction in plastic production to protect human rights and health.
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Document type: Report
Пластик і Здоров’я
The report details how plastic creates a global health crisis through a complex life cycle. It identifies toxic emissions during fossil fuel extraction (fracking) and refining, the leaching of endocrine disruptors and carcinogens from consumer products, and the release of hazardous metals and dioxins during waste incineration. It further examines the pervasive presence of microplastics in the food chain, drinking water, and human tissues, linking them to inflammation, oxidative stress, and various chronic diseases. The document emphasizes that marginalized communities bear a disproportionate burden of these risks and calls for a transition away from plastic production based on human rights and the precautionary principle.
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Document type: Report
Principles for aligning U.S. fossil fuel extraction with climate limits
The document argues that the United States, as a top fossil fuel producer with a resilient economy, must phase out extraction faster than the global average to meet Paris Agreement goals. It introduces three principles: reducing production at a pace consistent with climate protection, accelerating phase-outs in economically resilient communities, and safeguarding human rights and the environment. The authors apply these principles to U.S. coal and onshore oil, identifying the Appalachian Basin and California's San Joaquin basin as high-priority areas for rapid wind-down due to high carbon intensity, lower relative economic dependence, and significant environmental or social harms.
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Document type: Research paper
Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California
The Union of Concerned Scientists finds that PM2.5 pollution from cars, trucks, and buses in California is inequitably distributed, with African American, Latino, and Asian residents, as well as low-income households, facing significantly higher exposure than white and wealthier residents. The analysis identifies Southern California, particularly Los Angeles County, as having the highest average exposure, and estimates that on-road transportation leads to approximately 3,100 premature deaths annually in the state.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California
The Union of Concerned Scientists utilized the InMAP (Intervention Model for Air Pollution) to estimate average annual concentrations of PM2.5 in California at a resolution of one square kilometer. By mapping these concentrations to census block groups and integrating data from the 2012–2016 American Community Survey, the study aimed to determine population-weighted exposure by demographic group. The authors justify the use of the reduced-complexity InMAP model over conventional chemical transport models (CTMs) by noting its superior performance on population-weighted metrics and its ability to provide the fine spatial resolution necessary to analyze exposure equity in racially or economically segregated urban areas.
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Document type: Report